Floor covering



FLOOR COVERING Filed Aug. 8, 1928 N w Q INVENTOR Patented Jan. 5, 1932 Eran stares PATENT OFFICE SAMUEL H. HARTIVIAN, 0F LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO ARIKSTRONG CORK COMPANY, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYL- VANIA FLOOR COVERING Application filed August 8, 1928. Serial No. 298,219.

This invention relates to floor coverings and is especially applicable to molded inlaid floor coverings.

In a copending application in the name of Hartman and Humphreys, Serial No. 297,- 931, filed August 7, 1928, there is disclosed a molded inlaid linoleum having an inlaid pattern wherein the inlays are of irregular shape intended to represent pieces of stone more or less haphazardly laid. The individual stoneimitating inlays are connected by molded inlaid interliners. In order to procure a shaded or irregular efiect, the stone-imitating inlays are comprised of two different portions of the same color but of different shades. One portion partially or wholly surrounds the other, and the contour of the portions is irregular ano unsymmetrical. Where a pattern is formed of two portions in this manner, the contour line of the different portions is quite noticeable unless one portion stands in relief above another portion, as disclosed in said application.

According to the present invention, it is proposed to render the contour lines of the two portions of the individual pattern elements less conspicuous by super-imposing another pattern over the entire surface of the goods, which pattern is entirely independent of the outline of the pattern elements or" the molded inlaid material and which has the optical efiect of leading theeye away from the contourof the difierent colored areas, whereby the desired shaded effect is procured without the contrast in shades being so noticeable to the eye. A floor covering pleasing to the eye and of unique appearance is thus procured. I

The invention may be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan view of a molded inlaid linoleum embodying my invention; and

Figure 2 represents a section throughthe material.

In the drawings, which is merely illustrative of the idea of my invention, the piece of linoleum 2 has a pattern comprised of various pattern elements 3 and 4. The pattern elements are of irregular outline, intended to In the drawings, cross-hatching is used to designate a difference in color, and'a diflerence in shades of the same color is indicated by variations inthe intensity of the crosshatching. The pattern elements 3 have the inner portion 3 of a lighter shade than the surrounding portion 3 while the reverse is shown in the pattern elements 4. The inner portions 3 and 4 of the respective pattern elements are irregularly disposed within the contour of the pattern elements and are un symmetrical with respect to the outline of the pattern elements. I a

The pattern elements shown produce an efi'ect of stone having high and low areas or having different shades irregularly distributed therein. In the plain material the'line of juncture between the portions 3 and 3 and 4 and 4" is quite noticeable even though the contrast in the shades of material in the different portions is relatively slight, and there is (a somewhat undesirable mechanical appearance to the pattern. This is due-to the fact that the difi'erent portions of thepattern are formed through stencils. As is well known, the. process of molding through stencils. results in a line ofjuncture of bad appearance. I

. Between the pattern elements 3 and 4: is

' another pattern element which is a molded interliner 5 of a color contrasting to the colors employed in the pattern elements 3 and 4. The molded inlaid sheet has allof the pattern elements in the same plane, none of the elements being depressed or embossed below or above the plane of the other components of the pattern.

In order to relieve the mechanical appearance of the material and bring out the-shading efiects desired, the whole surface of the material is embossed by closely spaced intersecting grooves 6 and 7, which arepreferably .Cil

Without reference to the position of the interliner 5 or to the joint between the portions 5 and 3 and P and l The effect of this regular embossing is to increase the appearance of irregularity of the molded pattern and to lead the eye away from the line of contour between the difierent portions of the pattern elements 3 and 4:. By reason of the difierent shades of material employed the different eflects of shading are procured but the mechanical way in which these effects are procured is rendered less conspicuous by the cross grooving.

A linoleum of unique and pleasing appearance is thus procured and. the die for pressing the molded inlaid material is much more simple than the die required for pressing the different portions of the pattern to different elevations, as disclosed in the said Hartman and Humphreys application. It will, of course, be understood that the grooves can be arranged to form rectangles or patterns other than squares Where adiiferent arrange ment of grooves is desirable. The inventionmy hand.

' SAMUEL H. HARTMAN.

has been specifically described as relating to molded inlaid linoleum, but it is not restricted to use on goods of this particular nature.

I claim:

1. A floor covering having a main pattern thereon comprised of a plurality of different elements some of which contrast in color to the others and Which are of definite outline, and a second pattern formed thereover dividing the surface of the material into small pattern areas whichfare in contrast to and non-coincident with said first pattern elements, the second pattern being made up of grooves relatively widely spaced as compared with their width.

2. A floor covering having a main pattern comprising differently coloredelements and a second grid-like pattern over the surface of y with the first pattern elements, the second 

